Extraction and Characterization of Polyhydroxybutyrates (PHB) from Bacillus thuringiensis KSADL127 Isolated from Mangrove Environments of Saudi Arabia

Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a renowned biodegradable plastic that do not release any toxins or residues in the environment like petroleum based plastics. In the present study, 50 bacteria isolated from mangrove niche, Saudi Arabia, were screened for maximum PHB production. All the 50 strains showed positive for PHB production, of which one strain showed maximum of 137 mgL(-1). The most PHB accumulated bacterium was selected and identified as Bacillus thuringiensis KSADL127, based on phenotypic characterization and 16S rRNA sequence analysis. Characterization of extracted PHB was carried out by FT-IR, NMR, UV spectroscopy, DSC, TGA, and LC-MS, which later confirmed the presence of intracellular accumulated polymer and substantiated as PHB.